


How could the Sun lose its radiance?

by nimiumcaelo



Category: Raffles - E. W. Hornung
Genre: Insecure Raffles, M/M, Post "No Sinecure", raffleskinkmeme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 06:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14038584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nimiumcaelo/pseuds/nimiumcaelo
Summary: Written for the prompt:Set sometime after No Sinecure, Raffles is a little put off by his altered appearance. Bonus if, "You still think I'm handsome, don't you Bunny?" is used.





	How could the Sun lose its radiance?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt:  
>  _Set sometime after No Sinecure, Raffles is a little put off by his altered appearance. Bonus if, "You still think I'm handsome, don't you Bunny?" is used._

That morning had begun usually enough. I had risen somewhat early, dressed and freshened up, then started the kettle boiling and cracked a few eggs to fry. Raffles didn’t come out for quite some time, but then I half-believed his invalidity sometimes and thought nothing of it. I wondered to myself whether he would want toast, as well.

You may think me frivolous for these concerns, but it was a comfort to be able to think of nothing more than the weather and my beloved Raffles’s comfort, now that I knew him to be safely alive and well. The years spent in prison had rather soiled my appetite for the finer politics of society and I hardly wished to read the newspaper anymore. If Raffles hadn’t insisted on it to learn of future jobs, we might never buy one at all.

After deciding that toast would, indeed, be welcome, I put together a plate for Raffles and knocked lightly on his door. I heard him clear his throat from within.

“You may come in, Bunny.”

I did, and set his breakfast on his lap and his cup of tea in his hand. He smiled at me; I kissed his cheek.

“It looks like it might rain later,” I mentioned as I sat myself on the foot of his bed.

He nodded absently, having not been able to see out the window yet. As he sipped at his tea, I tried to make light conversation: he may not have wished me to know it, yet I could always tell when he was feeling like a chained dog in these rooms and was yearning for some excitement. I believe he appreciated the effort, though not as much as I had hoped.

“Have you read of any opportunities, lately?” I asked him finally. He set his plate aside and looked past me towards the curtains.

“No, but I’ll continue the search.” He sighed. “I wish it wasn’t to rain,” he grumbled. “I do so hate lying here all day.”

I tried smiling consolingly at him. “I know, A.J. I’m sorry.”

He huffed again, tilting his head to look up at the ceiling. “It isn’t your fault, Bunny. Perhaps I should take up calisthenics.”

I chuckled at the thought. “If you did, I would join you. I fear I may be languishing somewhat, as well.”

His smile seemed more wooden, then, though it hadn’t altered very much besides. “Not you, Bunny.”

“What, am I not allowed to be out of perfect form?” I jested. “That’s hardly fair, considering.”

Raffles’s gaze closed off. “Oh?” he said delicately. “Considering what?”

I floundered a little. “Nothing, just that –”

“What?” His eyes were sharp on me.

“Considering that you’re not in perfect form, either. I mean, you can hardly say you – I just – you know what I mean,” I finished desperately.

Raffles stared at me for a long moment. “Yes,” he murmured finally. “I suppose I do.” He then looked away.

I felt a scoundrel of the lowest order. I apologized profusely to Raffles and though he looked on me and smiled, I could tell his heart was still sore and that my words were as water over his back. I grasped at his hands and bade him look at me.

“A.J., I apologize – “

“So you’ve said.”

“Let me finish. I didn’t mean to upset you, that was never my intention. I was simply attempting humor, crass though it may have been. Of course I don’t think less of you for sitting around – _I_ sit around! I just – I want you to know that it doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you are in your prime form or not. The only reason it would matter is if you’re planning on carrying me again,” I added, smiling. “But I rather hope you won’t.”

Raffles’s face was soft, but yet he still would not meet my gaze. He simply smiled weakly at the floor and gripped my hands. 

“Bunny?”

“Yes?”

He paused, then spoke so quietly I barely heard him. “You still think I’m handsome, don’t you, Bunny?”

I was stunned.  I was saddened.  To think that Raffles –  _the_ A. J. Raffles! – was doubting that I still found him as utterly gorgeous as I always had! It was ridiculous!  I felt infinitely more guilty for my comments, then, and resolved to banish these thoughts from his mind as best as I could.

“A.J.!” I chastised. “Of _course_ I do! How could you believe that I –  that I wouldn’t – I have been so enamored of you for so long, yet still you have doubts! What else must I do to make you believe me?”

His gaze lifted to mine, then, though the expression on his face was still painfully vulnerable.

I placed my hand on his cheek. “A.J.,” I said softly. “I am horribly fond of you. No, you’re not ‘ _handsome_ .’”

He looked shocked, then stricken.

“‘Handsome,’” I declared. “Is too weak a word.”

A smile finally returned to his face.

“Shall I tell you how attractive I find you? Very well. I have always found your eyes to be striking, particularly so when you are caught up in the midst of a game or catch sight of some jewel. They are no less beautiful now. I am also fond of your mouth,” I kissed him, “and your hair, no matter its color. I love your hands,” I gripped them, “and your fingers,” I brought them to my mouth and kissed each one. “And whether or not you have been exercising for months, I have always adored your arms around me.” I paused, he had turned his face away, again.

He swallowed. “Bunny?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t believe I deserve you.”

I turned his face towards me. “Stop talking rot. I won’t have you continue this self-deprecation, Raffles, I simply won’t. Now, you are going to listen to what I said and you are going to believe it, because it’s true. I love you and I think that you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, so you can keep on with this foolishness or you can kiss me and have done with it.  I’m fairly certain you know which I’d prefer.”

There was that smile of the Raffles I loved best. The old sparkle had returned to his eye and he leaned his head towards me until our foreheads touched.

“You won’t have it, will you?” he murmured lowly.

I tried my best to look commanding and most probably failed horrendously. “No, I won’t.”

“Well, then, I suppose I only have one option.”

“I suppose you do,” I agreed.

He wrapped his wonderful arms around me and kissed me.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> \- M  
> (I read like all the Raffles fics on AO3 and I was desperate so I just figured "might as well write my own lol")  
> ((Also is it just me or is "Gorgeous" by Taylor Swift literally about Raffles?))


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